Welch withdraws nomination to marijuana regulatory board

Published 4:58 pm, Monday, March 12, 2018

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The man nominated by Gov. Bill Walker to fill the public safety seat on Alaska's marijuana regulatory board has withdrawn from consideration after losing his law enforcement job.

Travis Welch's withdrawal from consideration was announced Monday.

Bob Griffiths, executive director of the Alaska Police Standards Council, says he was notified Thursday by the North Slope Borough that Welch had been dismissed as borough police chief.

He says the cause cited was a change in direction of leadership of the agency.

Messages left with Welch and the borough weren't immediately returned.

Welch was chosen to replace Peter Mlynarik, (MLYN'-arh-ik), who quit after the U.S. Department of Justice shifted its policy on marijuana enforcement. Mlynarik said the department's decision removed the underpinning on which Alaska's industry is based.